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During the current recession, many businesses and individuals are turning to professional accountants in order to ensure the correct preparation of their tax returns to avoid costly penalties. This means that there are many opportunities for accountancy offices and franchises to grow - an opportunity for a new revenue stream to offset the lack of revenue after tax season.

But tax season for personal income tax returns is a 3 month a year revenue stream. We all see kiosk’s in the mall from Liberty Tax and H&R Block but what about the other 9 months of the year? Your business client comes in once a year to file their T2 return but you don't see them for the other 11 months of the year?

Every dollar matters in your business and revenue streams in off peak season are vital to the success of your business. Bookkeeping offers the opportunity for your business to offer another service for your clientele and generate another revenue stream for your business. But your not a bookkeeper, you're an accountant or a business owner!

A brand new software Bookkeeper’s Quote™ now provides you the opportunity to profile new clients or existing clients and match their businesses with bookkeeping tasks required. The bookkeeping software provides you the communication tool necessary to discuss the tasks associated with bookkeeping and at the same time provides you the checklist of bookkeeping tasks you will need to complete to provide a bookkeeping service.

Bookkeeper’s Quote™ also will create accurate bookkeeping quotes that properly reflect a bookkeepers' time and work on clients' accounts, based on your rates and task/time settings or default proven standard times.

Bookkeeper’s Quote™ is designed to assist the user in Communicating 2 the client about the costs and any adjustments in billings after the quote.

Bookkeeper’s Quote™ includes everything you will need to ensure you provide accurate reliable service to a client. Whether they are new to your office, client information is recorded, compliance methods assured, contacts with the government accounted for, posting and invoicing recorded, payroll included and tax regulatory issues are highlighted and more.

So if you are looking to add a revenue stream to your existing business or a new business that compliments what you are currently doing think about bookkeeping and make every dollar count.

When you developing your business or you are compiling your information for bookkeeping as a bookkeeper or as a small business owner, several discussions generally can occur with your accountant. Several discussions and facts you may need to know are listed below.

1. GST registration compulsory after any 12 month period of $30,000 of revenue.1-800-959-5525 government business enquiry line.

2. If you are using space in your home for work or business there is the opportunity for you to receive rent or just a reimbursement of what it cost.C2 Online provides a word document for free; office in home.C2online also provides an excel document that calculates the inputted amounts and provides a total.The cost is $4.95 on our website www.c2online.ca

3. You use a cash account - treat amounts paid by cash like another bank account.Name it “Your name” in the company books.It is used for items paid by cash and other proceeds not actually company money but a person’s name.

4. You use a charge account - treat amounts paid by charge card like a bank account in the company books, use one charge card specifically for the company purchases.The interest charges are an obvious business expense.When company expenses and personal charges are mixed together, it is a huge exercise to determine what interest is business related.If you require a ledger for this purpose C2online has a tool for $2.95, interest for business purchases on statement.

5. Construction companies are required to file a T5018.This must be filed by the 6th month after the year end.Do the contractors information slips based on January to December and file it by June 30. Go to link at the government website…t5018 contractor payments.

7. How to maintain a vehicle log of kilometers traveled.
State the date of use, how many kilometers, reason for travel, destination of travel.

8. How to deal with tools and equipment and supplies owned before the company started.Some of these items would be start up costs and some would be fair market value.
In regards to the start up costs – when did the company start ? At the time you incur expenses with expectations of generating income.

When you have supplies for start up not processed through the company bank: use those receipts and use the cash account.

When tools and equipment for start up processed through the company bank: use those receipts and use cash account.

When owned and used for other relationship before business: Supplies listed at fair market value not processed through the company bank, use those estimated lists or estimate receipts and use cash account.

Tools and equipment listed at fair market value processed through the company bank: use those estimated lists or estimate receipts and use cash account.

9. Financial reports necessary to do year end: To do a quality control always provide summary reports that show totals only for the first visit about the report.

Profit & loss, balance sheet, summary of trial balance:Print the detailed trial balance (all accounts report) when we are completed so you have a print out of all the accounts from start to finish of year. This detailed trial balance report (all accounts report) is only needed once entirely for government backup.

Financial statements defined briefly:
A balance sheet: Provides an account of what the company actually owns & owes
An assets: is what the company owns.
Current assets are bank, charge cards (sometimes a negative asset), cash accounts
Capital assets(fixed) are equipment & vehicles & tools & furniture, other assets (not usually a physical touchy feely thing) incorporation costs or franchise agreements.
Liability is what the company owes.

Equity is net value of ownership.
Profit & loss: (income stmt) is the operating accounts that show how much you made and how much it cost to make it, including depreciation (capital cost allowance) of 20% or 30%, of fixed assets.
Business packet handout - statement of professional & business activities provides accounts for persons with business.

11. CPP contributions are paid:
a. when you file your taxes as a partnership or proprietorship business; by a compulsory automatic calculation on your net profit.
So when you have a tax return completed, this return will combine the cpp and tax (federal & provincial) on one bill thru your sin number

b. when you are actually working for your corporation.Paid by the corporation through a payroll and eventually recorded to you through a T4.
A corporation business has to remit employer payroll remittances in order for this to be paid to their social insurance number for tax or cpp.

12. Tax pre - payments (installments) through your social insurance number. When no net income estimate available, - consider 15% of all earnings as an installment.
That paid to your social insurance number at Canada Revenue Agency will also help pre – pay your Canada Pension Plan payment.

13. Three essential bookkeeping points:

Match what the paper work to what you claim.

Balance the account that the paper work is from.

Consistency with what you do with what paperwork is essential to compiling the totals to the accounts.